This invention is generally directed to a calendar display device for an analog timepiece providing day and date information and, in particular, to a calendar display device which selectively points out the current day of the week among a display of all of the days of the week and/or the current day of the month among a display of all days of the month.
While analog watches have taken many forms, analog watches with calendar displays are known in the art. For example, FIG. 5 depicts the construction of a conventional mechanism for changing the display of days of a month (1 through 31) and days of a week (Sunday through Saturday) in a conventional analog timepiece. A conventional analog timepiece includes at least a first spindle 10 for driving at least an hour hand for producing time information. Other concentric spindles are generally provided to drive the minute and second hands. Conventional watches are also capable of providing day-of-the-week information and day-of-the-month information.
A day-changing wheel 12 is rotated by the driving force from spindle 10 and is rotated by a day-of-the-month wheel rotating pawl 14 provided on day-changing wheel 12. A day-of-the-week wheel rotating pawl 16 is provided on the day-changing wheel 12. A day-of-the-month wheel 13 is rotated in the direction of arrow A by the day-of-the-month wheel rotating pawl 14 and a day-of-the-week wheel 18 is rotated in the direction of arrow B by day-of-the-week wheel rotating pawl 16.
This conventional analog timepiece uses the driving force of spindle 10 to transmit rotational energy to day-changing wheel 12 to cause it to perform one complete revolution in every 24 hour period, thereby causing the day-of-the-month wheel rotating pawl 14 to rotate day-of-the-month wheel 13 by one thirty-first of one complete rotation, and day-of-the-week wheel rotating pawl 16 to rotate the day-of-the-week wheel 20 by one seventh of one complete rotation. Day-of-the-month wheel 13 includes numerals 15 (1 through 31) indicating the days of the month, and the day-of-the-week wheel 20 includes abbreviated words 21 representing the days of the week from Sunday to Saturday.
FIG. 6 depicts the dial of a conventional analog timepiece having day-of-the-month and day-of-the-week information. A time indicating dial overlies day-of-the-month wheel 13 and day-of-the-week wheel 20 and provides a window 22 through which one of the numerals 15 of day-of-the-month wheel 13 and one of the abbreviated words 21 of day-of-the-week wheel 20 are displayed.
FIGS. 7 and 8 exemplify conventional mechanisms for correcting the display of days of a month and days of a week, respectively. The display of the day of the month numeral 15 may be changed by pulling out crown 26 and rotating it in a first direction indicated by the arrow C, thereby causing the day-of-the-month wheel 13 to rotate via drum wheel 30 and correction wheel 31. Alternatively, the day-of-the-week wheel 20 may be changed by rotating crown 26 in a second direction indicated by the arrow D while the crown 26 is pulled out. The rotation of crown 26 causes drum wheel 30 to rotate in an alternate direction and causes correction wheel 31 to shift into contact with transmission wheel 35 to rotate the day-of-the-week wheel 20.
Such conventional analog timepiece devices as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 suffer from the disadvantage that they are capable of displaying only one day of a month and one day of a week at a time, and are not equipped to display all of the days of the week or month like that of a monthly calendar.
The present invention is designed to overcome the problems inherent within the prior art as described above. Accordingly, it is desired to provide a device for displaying days of a month and of a week in a timepiece in such a way as to enable one to know what day of the month or week it is with respect to the remaining days of the month or week.